UPDATE: Delivery Man On Bike Run Struck By Car

I'm surprized that nobody has noted that the driver had to have been exceeding the speed limit by a fair amount to cause that much damage to his car, so that's another infraction against the driver, besides DUI and hit-and-run, and resisting arrest.

I live in a building that is immediately above where this guy got hit. The reason he got hit is because there were cars parked diagonally on 8th Avenue taking up two lanes rather than the normal one lane for a car parked normally. It's unclear why the police department has allowed these cars to park the way they did - perhaps bribes or maybe the parked cars belong to the fire department folks on the corner. Bottom line, this guy wouldn't have gotten hit if the cars weren't parked diagonally because he wouldn't have had to drive onto the third lane where he was exposed to traffic. 47th and 8th just happens to be one of the few spots on 8th Avenue where the sanitation department hasn't not cleaned up the snow. I wonder if there's a link. Oh, the guy that got hit is hispanic, that's okay we don't care about him or any conspiracy theories.

Non-Blind Justice

If this guy was driving a delivery truck or a bus with a suspended license he would've gotten a ticket and let go.

Where ARE the trolls? Shouldn't they be shaming Gothamist for publicizing a bike story? I would have thought they'd be here pointing out how badly the bikers skull damaged that poor Lexus and caused the traffic jam that didn't allow him to get where he was going quickly enough.

Gotta call out Aleksey on this, since just 2 days ago he praised the BQE drivers:

A very welcome change from bikers that pedal away like cowards.

The appropriate comparison would have been to asshole DRIVERS who drive away like cowards, like in this story. And an obvious difference between hit-and-run drivers and hit-and-run cyclists is that drivers actually kill people.

I'm not going to defend the drunk, he is an idiot. Keep pushing your agenda.

By the way, the biker was going the wrong way, if the car was going the wrong way on a road you would have some sort of accident as well.

Again, read the story. If the biker was going the wrong way, the car driver was too, since the driver hit the biker from behind. Would have been head-on if someone was going the wrong way.

I don't have an agenda. I'm not particularly pro-bike - I drive, actually. I just thought it was a dick comment then, and still do.

There isn't a story every month about deadly hit-and-run cyclists - they don't exist. It's the hit-and-run drivers that leave dead people behind, and it happens way too often.

Yeah, learn to read before quoting me. I never wrote that meaning that it was a welcome change the biker was killed on the BQE.

I wrote that when they updated the story that both drivers stayed with the victim after bunch of you started crying how drivers fled the scene.

I never wrote that meaning that it was a welcome change the biker was killed on the BQE.

Yeah I know, stupid. It was a needless and wildly inaccurate generalization about cyclists being "cowards" that you made just to be a dick.

There was good reason to think that one of the BQE drivers drove off. For one thing, the news (and Gothamist) reported that was the case. And we actually have a problem with hit-and-run drivers in this city. Hit-and-run cyclists, not so much.

Hey, you know those crazy bicyclists are sooooo dangerous, they need to be ticketed and forced to register their vehicles. The guy on the bike was probably riding recklessly and purposely ran into the car, breaking the windshield with his head, so it was really the cyclist's fault. The cops should have given his lifeless body a ticket for failure to indicate a turn into the gates of Hell ...

I know it's probably this asshole bikers fault. Buy the gerrknger guy should have stopped. He will get a long sentence
If he had stayed at the scene
Zippo
The reason he ran is
A. He carjwxked the lex
B. He was high as a kite and had no license or was an illegal alien

When you run from a cat accident if the license plate is not noted at the time of the accidents chances are he would never be caught
That street is crawling with cops
Bad luck buddy
Enjoy the slammer for a few years
If the poor guy dies and you were drunk or high on crack.maybe 5 to 10

Did you even read the article?

...

The bike messenger was riding on the wrong side of the street -- the bike lane on 8th avenue is on the west side of the street -- he should have been riding there and he would not have been hit. West 47th St runs westbound, so if the bike was turning to go east on 47th he was also going the wrong way.

Shut up now.

You're coming to conclusions based on almost no information. Another commenter seems to have put some light to this, that he was pushed out into the lane because of double parked cars. I have biked up 8th ave in mid-town more often than I like, once the protected path disappears there might as well not be a lane at all. It's almost completely blocked by parked cars and trucks the whole way after that. You seriously can't even go a quarter of a block without having to swerve around a vehicle either blocking the lane or suddenly cutting you off to get in or out of a parking spot. It's extremely dangerous and in my experience it seems to be the avenue with the highest rate of speeding and no one gives a shit that you're there or has no clue because they aren't paying attention. If I have to go anywhere above 23rd I avoid 8th ave now because of how dangerous it is to cyclists, and I'm very experienced riding in the city.

There is no wrong side of the street when the city is covered with snow, douche. So stick the other foot in your mouth.

If the biker was going the wrong way, then so was the drunk driver, since the story says the car struck the cyclist from behind.

Also, given how much snow there is on city streets, if there was a bike lane anywhere on that street it's probably a mess. Cyclists only have to ride in bike lanes when it is reasonably safe to do so. If they are obstructed, they don't have to ride in them. Nevertheless, some paint on the ground isn't much of a defense against a drunk guy behind the wheel.

There was also a double-parked car, the one the cyclist was thrown under after being hit. No word on whether or not it was a factor in the accident, but you can be sure there is no NYPD crackdown on illegally double-parked cars.

This is an open-and-shut case of a drunk driver. Why make up scenarios that put even the slightest blame on the cyclist? If you're drunk you can not be on the road. Period.

You're making the huge assumption that the only reason a delivery boy wouldn't use a bike lane is because it was obstructed. The ONLY reason a delivery boy ever uses the bike lane is to go the wrong way down it.

You're making the huge assumption that bike lanes aren't ever blocked by cars. (The delivery guy was thrown under a double-parked car after he was hit.)

I'm not saying that delivery guys don't go the wrong way down streets; it's a huge problem, no question.

But in this specific case, the only case I'm commenting on, the delivery cyclist was hit from behind by the car. If the delivery "boy" (a 28-year-old married father of three, by the way) was going the wrong way on his bike, then so was the car driver. Although it's wrong no matter what, it does seems like it would be a heck of a lot worse for a Lexus to speed the wrong way on a major avenue than a tiny little bike.

The driver was drunk. Period. Shouldn't have been on the road on so much as a moped. If he and his car hadn't hit this dark-skinned immigrant, he might have hit a pretty white tourist or fashionable New Yorker. And then you would have been really upset!

Where's Mr. Times Up! fallOut thefacts boy?

guess he took his meds today

he's in jail right now.

seems he was driving his Lexus near 47th, and... well you can guess the rest

He's not in this thread because there's no way to be anti-bike in this situation and not come out looking like an asshole.

oh wait, that's never stopped him before...

Maybe this is a stupid question but can the driver who hit the delivery guy second sue the drunken scene-fleeing for emotional distress?

Actually, an interesting angle. The second driver never would have been involved in this accident save for the actions of the first driver, so, yes, there could be grounds for legal action. Or, we could simply just get on with our lives and stop looking for paydays every waking hour of the day.

yes, remember the time I mugged you and you shrugged it off after I said "let it go"?

and remember the time I burglarized your home and raped your wife and daughter and you didn't hold any grudge and didn't press charges?

I don't know why more people don't just "move on" when they see evil or bad behavior.

there should be LESS accountability!

after I mugged you and you were so forgiving, I decided to give up a life of crime, bc who wants free money anyway?

Rod, pull yours out of your ass You completely missed my point

At least the FDNY gets to charge two different drivers for having to respond.

"He's been charged with DWI, vehicular assault and leaving the scene of an accident" according to the post.

Is there a way to compare this to the first 50 pages of Bonfire of the Vanity's respectfully?

I hope he lives.

i'd say this fellow is better off NOT surviving.

or do you think the future looks bright?

he's got to be scared of BOTH police AND drunk drivers?

and who is really going to end up paying his hospital bills? the insurance company?? HA HA HA!

The NYPD failed here. If they had stopped and ticketed this cyclist for riding without valve caps on his tires, he never would have been in the path of the drunk driver. Clearly, we need a bigger bike crackdown!

A rare #hitandrun attempt w/ driver caught (thx to gridlock).

good point!

fallout and idiot ulrich should THANK US for our "congestion-causing" bike lanes!

WE caught this criminal!

Lost his inheritance, lost his dad, losing his freedom. Sounds like it's been a shitty two years for Mr. Gettinger.

Gettinger losing his freedom vs. the delivery man potentially losing his life. Who's the one having a shitty time again?

yeah, the free health care and cable tv and free everything in jail is gonna be real shitty

Not to forget the free man-on-man action.

If he didn't run, if had stayed he wouldn't be charged at all, even if this deliveryman dies.

Actually if he's drunk it'd 5 years

and the cops would've given him breathmints and some water if he seemed drunk

How could someone do this? No consideration for another life? My only guess is he was impaired or clearly in the wrong.

Gettinger was charged with DWI. Which makes sense. You'd have to be either completely drunk or an absolute moron to think nobody would find you after your windshield is caved in by an impact.

>>>The Lexus' driver, Clark Gettinger, was eventually was at 50th Street.

What?

Let me channel City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Queens):
"Obviously, that man should be arrested and sentenced to LIFE!!!"
"The bicyclist that is!!!"

Yes the biker!
These nit wits will never learn their lesson

If Ulrich had spent his 15 minutes on something constructive like the light and helmet laws already on the books instead of squandering it on registration nonsense...if only....

There's no helmet law in NY, except for kids. Adults are not required to wear a helmet. Either way, it doesn't seem that any helmet will help you if you're hit by a drunk driver.

"Employers must provide their bicycle delivery workers with helmets that meet City safety standards. Delivery bicycles must be equipped with safety devices. Delivery workers must wear helmets when cycling on the job."

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/ht...


It doesn't seem like a helmet should be able to help you if you hit concrete so hard you split the helmet in two, either. Then I road away without a concussion.

Thanks for pointing out the law. I appreciate it.

While the delivery guy should have had a helmet because he was legally required to have one, it wouldn't help anyone hit from behind by a drunk guy in a Lexus. It's a bit of blame the victim to bring up the question of whether or not he had a helmet, law or not. Helmets help in low-speed accidents, rarely when rammed like this.

According to the article: "the cyclist's head knocked out the windshield on the passenger side"

A helmet would likely have greatly reduced head injury.

I don't disagree with that, but there's a bit of "blame the victim" when we focus on helmets. I think we all have a right to reasonably expect that a) drunk people should not drive and b) the NYPD will do more to enforce drunk driving laws.

So, yeah, the delivery guy might have had a lesser head injury from the first impact, but getting run over by a second car? Not likely that a helmet would have helped in this case.

All I'm talking about is this case. I wear a helmet every time I ride, but I know that if I'm hit by two cars, I'm going to need more than a helmet to survive.

That's really not true. According to the DOT, 97% of cyclist killed in accidents between 1996 and 2005 were not wearing helmets.


http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/do...

Couldn't agree more. If they crashed into a car and killed someone and then fled, they'd have quite a stiff sentence but for some reason, it's ok to hit pedestrians and cyclists.

When are we going to start giving hit-and-run drivers the kind of sentences they deserve? If this guy turns out to be the son of one of Bernie Maddof's victims, you know there's enough juice in his family that he'll get off with community service or some other powder puff sentence.

it should be ATTEMPTED MURDER when bad drivers strike.

and it's SELF DEFENSE when any cyclist tries to kill a bad driver.

any questions?

i had a female friend who was run over and had her pelvis CRUSHED at age 22 because the turning truck ignored her on her bike.

i was run over 3 years ago by a truck turning while I was in the crosswallk with the right of way.

both times the police let them off the hook for breaking the law and injuring people.

don't forget everyone that cars are one of the top killers in america and far more dangerous statitiscally than guns are.

if someone pulled a gun on you you could kill them right there.

but if someone pulls a CAR on me, I can't kill them to save myself and my fellow cyclists?

i just realized that, according to the NYPD and the media, I, as a cyclist, have a legal right to KILL any jaywalkers in my way, just as automobiles are allowed to kill anyone they hit no matter how many laws (like failure to yield) the drivers are guilty of.

and if I have no reflector on my bike, they can merely ticket me for that.

hey fallout! what nabe do you jaywalk in?